Wrapping machine



935. c. H. .PETSKEYES Y WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec 19, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR C'harles H.Petske;yes BY ATTORNEYS Deg. 3, 1935.

c. H. PETSKEYES 2,023,147

WRAPPING MACHINE Filedbec. 19, 1952 a sheet s-sheet 2 I I f' INVENTOR Charles H.Pet,s'ke:yes BY W qr ATTORNEYS c. H.-PETSKEYE$ 2,023,147

WRAPPING MACHINE 5 INVENTOR Charles H. Petske yas ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 3, 1935 UNITED STATES wnarrnvo momma Charles H. Petskeyee, Davenport, Iowa, assignor to The Micro Corporation, Bettendorf, Iowa, a corporation of Delaware application DecemberlB, 19:2, No. was:

7 12 claim. This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for wrapping articles of uniform size and particularly for wrapping loaves of bread either whole or sliced.

The present invention has for its object to provide a method of wrapping by which articles such as loaves of .bread may be quickly and easily wrapped with a minimum of manipulation of the article being wrapped and with exceedingly simple apparatus to assist in the wrapping operation.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a wrapping machine of exceedingly simple andcompact construction which can be manufactured and sold at low cost.

A further object is to provide a machine in which the wrapping operation is performed within a very restricted space and in which the wrapping is accomplished by movements of the articles in a guideway provided with tucking and folding guides so arranged as to tuck and fold edge portions of the wrapper against the ends of the article.

.A further object of the invention is to provide a machine in which means is provided for suspending the wrapper in a gap in a passageway through which the loaf or other article to be wrapped is passed, and which is provided with guide members which serve to wrap the wrapper about the loaf and to tuck and fold the edges of the wrapper against the ends of the-loaf as the loaf is moved in the passageway.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention may be said to comprise the method and apparatus as illustrated in the accompanying drawings hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims together with such variations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which: I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the wrapping machine with a portion of the paper feeding mechanism broken away to show the wrapping table;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line indicated at 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the paper feed and cut-of! mechanism, a portion of which is broken away and shown in section;

Fig 5 is a section on an enlarged scale taken on the line indicated at H in Fig. 1;

Figs. 6 to 11 inclusive are diagrammatic views illustrating the wrapping operation;

' Fig. 6 shows the first step in the wrapping operation, the loaf or other article to be wrapped having been pushed across the gap through which 5 the wrapping paper extends into engagement with the tuckers on the opposite side of the gap whereby the paper has been folded against the bottom of the loaf and tucked against the sides thereof Fig. 'I shows the loaf in the same position as in Fig. 8 after the wrapper has been severed from the strip and the free end of the severed wrapper has been placed .inthe gap between the spaced tuckers; I M

Fig. ,8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing one end of the article'and wrapper in the position shownin Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the article and wrapper after the article has 20 been pushed back across the gap into engagement with the tuckers at the rear thereof, the wrapper being wrapped about the loaf with the edges thereof tucked against the ends of the'loaf intermediate the top and bottom thereof, leav- 25 ing flaps projecting from the ends of the loaf at the top and bottom;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing the top flap of the wrapper folded down;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view show- :0 ing the article and wrapper returned to a. posi- ,tion between the forward tuckers and with the bottom flaps in a position to enter the folding s1ot.- x

The accompanying drawings illustrate the in-' 35 vention as applied to a manually operable machine in which the only moving parts are the paper feeder and paper cutter. The supporting frame I of the machine is in the form of a table having a horizontal bed 2 which forms the bot- 40 tom of the passageway through which the loaves or other articles are moved during the wrapping operation. The bed 2 is provided with a narrow transverse gap 3 across the passageway and is in the form of a transverse slot of a length sufli- 45 cient to receive the wrapping paper. Small rollans 4 extend the full length of the slot on opposite sides thereof to facilitate the passage of the loaves across the gap and the movement of the paper over the edges of the slot onto the bed 2.

During the wrapping operation the loaves or other articles are pushed over the bed between suitable guide members which engage the ends of the loaf, the guide members being interrupted over the gap 3 to permit a wrapper of a width 56 greater than the length of a loaf to be suspended in the gap in position to be engaged by a loaf pushed forwardly in the passageway. Rearward- 1y of the gap 3 the guides are in the form of a pair of laterally spaced tuckers 5 in the form of flat plates and which have their lower edges spaced above the bed and which are of a width less than the height of the loaf. ,-The tuckers 5 are supported by brackets 6 which are mounted for transverse adjustment on the bed lengthwise of slots 1 in the bed which receive clamping bolts 8 by which'the brackets are secured in adjusted" position on the bed. The tuckers 5 are provided with tapered front ends 9 which terminate closely adjacent the rear edge of the gap 3.

Forwardly of the gap 3a pair of front tuckers ID are provided which are mounted in align- 'ment with the tuckers 5. The front tuckers ID are in the form of fiat plates of a widthless than the height of the loaf, the plates having their lower edges spaced above the bed and being provided with tapered rear ends which terminate near the front edge of the gap 3. The space between the ends of the tuckers 5 and I is less than the width of a loaf so that as the loaf-is-pushed' across the gap it is engaged by a pair of tuckers toward which it is pushed before it is released by the other pair of tuckers.

Forwardly of the tuckers l0 there are guide members l2 aligned therewith from which the tuckers I0 are supported by means of brackets I3. The guide members l2 have beveled rear ends and the rear ends of the tuckers I 6 are correspondingly beveled and are supported in spaced relation to the beveled edges of the guide members [2 to provide upwardly inclined folding slots 14. Each bracket I3 is formed to provide a fold receiving channel l aligned with the slot l4 to receive a projecting flap of the wrapper. The guide members l2 are mounted for lateral adjustment on the bed by means of brackets I6 provided with slots I! which receive clamping bolts l8.

Adjacent the folding slots H the guide mem-" bers l2 may be provided with recesses I9 in which heating elements 20 may be mounted- The heat To supply wrappers to the articles being' wrapped means is provided for supporting a roll of wrapping paper above the bed in a. position such that the lower end portion of the strip may be positioned in the gap 3 with its lower end below the bed as illustrated in Fig.1. To provide a support for the paper roll and paper feed mechanism, supporting standards 24 are mounted on the bed forwardly of the gap 3 and these standards have open bearing recesses 25 at the top thereof which receive 'the spindle 26 of a wrapping paper roll 21. To the front faces of the standards 6 at the top thereof are attached forwardly projecting bearing brackets 28 in which are journaled apair of feed rollers 29 and 30 which receive the paper strip between them. One

of the rollers has a shaft-3| 'which extends through one of the bearing brackets 28 and has attached thereto a hand wheel 32 by means of which the roller 29 may be rotated to advance the wrapping paper strip.

Below the rollers 29 and 30 the bearing brackets 28 support cutter frame 33 which is provided at opposite ends with inner and outer guides 34 and 35 which are attached to a base 36 which extends from one bracket 28 to the other and which are connected at their upper ends by a cap 31 secured by bolts 38. Between the guides 34 and 35 at each end of the cutter frame 33 there is mounted a sliding head 39 and these heads are attached to the ends of a shear blade 40 which is movable toward and away from the base 36 and is adapted to enter a groove 4| in the base 36 which provides a bed over which the paper strip is fed from the rollers 29 and 30, the

paper being guided onto the base 36 between guide bars 42 and 43 which are aligned with the bight of the rollers 29 and 30 and which are flared along their upper edges to facilitate the entry of the paper into the space between them. The cutter is actuated by means of connecting rods 44 which are connected at their upper ends by pivots 45 to the heads 39 and at their lower ends to a bell crank lever 46 fixed to one end of a cross shaft 41 journaled in the bearing brackets 28 and to an arm 46a fixed to the opposite end of the shaft 41-. The bell crank lever 46 is also adjustably connected to the upper end of a vertically movable rod 48 which has a slot 49 in which a pin 50, providing a pivotal connection to the lever 46, may be secured in various positions. The rod 48 extends through a guide 5| secured to one of the standards 24 and is conilti nected at its lower end to a lever 52 pivoted to a bracket 53 and connected by a rod 54 to a pedal 55. A spring 56 connected at one end to the rod 54 and at the other to the frame normally holds the pedal 55 in an elevated position and the cutter slide 39 in its raised position. When the pedal 55 is depressed the shear blade 40 is moved downwardly into engagement with the base 36 and severs the wrapping paper strip.

In the operation of the machine the end of the wrapping paper60 is fed into the'gap 3 by tuning the feed roller 29 by means of the hand wheel 32 until the lower end of the strip is positioned a short distance below the bed 2 as illustrated in' Fig. 1 of the drawings. A loaf of bread 6|, which may be either whole or sliced, is then placed between the tuckers 5 and is pushed forwardly into engagement with the paper and across the gap 3 into the space between tuckers I0, as shown in Fig. 6. As the loaf moves across the gap in engagement with the wrapping paper, the lower edge portion of the paper is pulled up onto the bed and is folded against the bottom of the loaf. At the same time the tuckers l6 engage edge portions of the paper between the top and bottom of the loaf and tuck these edge portions against the ends of the loaf. The operator then depresses the treadle 55 severing the wrapper from the strip and places the severed end of the wrapper in the gap 3 as shown in Fig. 7. The operator then shoves the loaf back across-the gap into engagement with the rear tuckers 5 which folds the free end of the wrapper into engagement with the bottom of the loaf and tucks edge portions of the wrapper intermediate the top and bottom of the loaf into engagement with the ends of the loaf, as shown in Fig. 9. The wrapper is now wrapped about the loaf, has edge portions intermediate the top and bottom tucked against the ends of the loaf and has folded 7 flaps 62 and 63 projecting from the ends of the loaf at the top and bottom as shown in Fig. 9. The operator then presses down the top flap 62 to the position shown in Fig. 10 and pushes the loaf forwardly across the gap and between the tuckers Ill which now hold the top flap against the end of the loaf.

The loaf is then moved forwardly and the bottom flaps 63 enter the upwardly inclined folding slots H which gradually draw the lower folds 63 up against the ends of the loaf, so that as the loaf is advanced between the guide-members l2 all of the projecting edge portions of the wrapper are folded in overlapping relation against the ends of the loaf. While the loaf is positioned between the heaters l3, suflicient heat may be applied to the overlapping folds of the wrapper at the ends of the loaf to melt the paraffin and cause these folds to adhere together.

While the invention has been illustrated in its simplest form in which all of the operations are performed manually, it will be obvious that mechanism may be employed to impart the required movements in the proper sequence to the loaf, the paper feeders and the paper cutter.

It will be apparent, however, that the simple machine illustrated can be manufactured at a very low cost and will enable bread to be rapidly wrapped in small bakeries whose production is not suflicient to justify the installation of a fully automatic bread wrapping machine.

It will be apparent that the present invention provides an exceedingly simple and compact machine by which bread can be quicklyand easily wrapped and that by the novel method herein disclosed the wrapping is accomplished with a minimum manipulation of the bread and wrapping paper.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular form of apparatus shown and described, and the particularprocedure set forth, are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The herein described method of wrapping articles which comprises, supporting the article to be wrapped on a bed having a transverse wrapper-receiving gap, suspending a wrapper of a width somewhat greater than the length of the article in the gap with its lower edge below the bed, advancing the article into engagement with the wrapper and across the gap to fold the lower edge of the wrapper against the bottom of the article, tucking edge portions of the wrapper against theends of the article during forward movement, placing the opposite end of the wrapper in the gap, moving the article back across the gap to fold the latter end of the wrapper against the bottom of the article, tucking other edge portions of the wrapper against the ends of the article during rearward movement, moving the article again forwardly across the gap, and folding projecting portions of the wrapper edges against the end of the article.

2. The herein described method of wrapping articles which comprises, supporting the article to be wrapped on a bed having a transverse wrapper-receiving gap, suspending a wrapper of a width somewhat greater than the length of the article in the gap with its lower edge below the bed, advancing the article into engagement with the wrapper and across the gap to fold the lower edge of the wrapper against the bottom of the article, tucking edge portions of the wrapper against the ends of the article during forward movement, placing the opposite end of the wrapper in the gap, moving the article back across 5 the gap to fold the latter end of the wrapper articles which comprises, supporting the article to be wrapped on a bed having a transverse wrapper-receiving gap, suspending a wrapper of a width somewhat greater than the length of the article in the gap with its lower edge below the 20 bed, advancing the article into engagement with the wrapper and across the gap to fold the lower edge of the wrapper against the bottom of the article, tucking edge portions of the wrapper rearwardly against the ends of the article inter- 25 mediate the top and bottom thereof during forward movement, placing the opposite end of the wrapper in the gap, moving the article rearwardly across the gap to fold the latter end of the wrapper against the bottom ofthe article, 30 tucking edge portions of the wrapper forwardly on the bed and folding portions of the wrapperprojecting from the ends of the article at the top and. bottom thereof against the ends of the article.

4. The herein described method of wrapping 35 articles which comprises, supporting the article to be wrapped on a bed having a transverse wrapper-receiving gap, suspending a wrapper of a width somewhat greater than the length of the article in the gap with its lower edge below the 40 bcd, advancing the article into engagement with the wrapper and across the gap to fold the lower edge of the wrapper against the bottom of the article, tucking edge portions of the wrapper rearwardly against the ends of the article inter- 45 mediate the top and bottom thereof during forward movement, placing the opposite end of the wrapper in the gap, moving the article rearwardly across the gap to fold the latter end of the wrapper against the bottom of the article, tucking 60 edge portions of the wrapper forwardly on the bed and folding portions of the wrapper project,- ing from the ends of the article at the top and bottom thereof against the ends of the article, and securing together folded portions of the wrapper at opposite ends of. the article.

5. The herein described method of wrapping articles which comprises, supporting the article to be wrapped on a bed having a transverse wrapper-receiving gap. suspending a strip of wrapping paper of a width somewhat greater than the length of the article in the gap with its lower edge below the bed. advancing the article on the bed against said strip and across the gap to fold the edge of the strip against the bottom 65 of the article, tucking edge portions of the strip against the ends of the article intermediate the. top and bottom thereof .during forward movement, severing said strip to provide a wrapper of a. length to enclose the article, inserting the free edge of the severed wrapper in the. gap, moving the article back across the gap to fold the latter end of the wrapper against the bottom of the article, tucking edge portions of the wrapper at the rear of the article against the ends of the 76 paper of a width somewhat greater than the length of the article in the gap with its lower edge below the bed, advancing the article on the bed against said strip and across the gap to fold the edge of the strip against the bottom of the article, tucking edge portions of the strip against the ends of the article intermediate the top and bottom thereof during forward movement, severing said strip to provide a wrapper of a length to enclose the article, inserting the free edge of the severed wrapper in the gap, moving the article back across the gap to fold the latter end of the wrapper against the bottom of the article,

tucking edge portions of the wrapper at the rear of the article against the ends of the article intermediate the-top and bottom thereof during rearward movement, again moving the article forwardly across the gap, folding portions of the wrapper projecting from the ends of the article at the top and bottom against the ends of the article, and securing together folded portions of the wrapper at opposite ends of the article.

'7. A wrapping machine comprising, a bed having aligned stationary sections, the adjoining ends of which are spaced apart to provide a transverse gap, spaced side guides forming a passageway across the gap for articles to be wrapped, said guides including alined front and rear tuckers terminating adjacent opposite sides of the gap and spaced above the bed for engagement with opposite ends of articles being moved across the gap, and means independent of the article being wrapped for supporting a .wrapper in the gap in position to be engaged by an article to be wrapped.

8. A wrapping machine comprising, a bed having a transverse gap, spaced side guides forming a passageway across the gap for articles to be wrapped, said guides including alined front and rear tuckers terminating adjacent opposite sides of the gap and spaced above the bed for engagement with opposite ends of articles being moved ing alined stationary sections, the adjoining ends of which are spaced apart to provide a transverse gap, spaced side guides forming a passageway across the gap for articles to be wrapped, said guides including alined front and rear 5 tuckers terminating adjacent opposite sides of the gap and spaced above the bed for engagement with opposite ends of articles being moved across the gap, means spaced above the bed and articles thereon for suspending a wrapper in the 10 gap with its lower edge below the bed, and flap folding means forwardly of the front tuckers.

10. A wrapping machine comprising, a bed having a transverse gap, spaced side guides formmeans. 25

11. A wrapping machine comprising, a bed having a transverse gap, spaced side guides forming a passageway across the gap for articles to be wrapped, said guides including alined front and rear tuckers terminating adjacent opposite sides 30 of the gap and spaced above the bed for engagement with opposite ends of articles being moved across the gap, a support mounted on the bed forwardly of the gap, means on the support and above the bed for rotatably mounting a roll of 35 wrapping paper, paper feeding means carried by said support for advancing the strip downwardly through said gap, and a cutter above the bed and below thefeeding means for severing the paper strip.

12. A wrapping machine comprising, a bed having a transverse gap, spaced side guides forming a passageway across the gap for articles to be wrapped, said guides including alined front and rear tuckers terminating adjacent opposite sides of the gap and spaced above the bed for engagement with opposite ends of articles being moved acrossthe gap, a support mounted on the bed forwardly of the gap, means on the support and above the bed for rotatably mounting a roll of wrapping paper, paper feeding means carried by said support for advancing the strip downwardly through said gap, a paper guide below the feeding means, and means adjacent the lower end of the guide for severing the paper strip.

CHARLES H. PETSKEYES. 

